A two-out single in the 10th inning by Suffolk's Mike Muse scored the game-winning run on Tuesday night as the fourth-seeded Rams edged the fifth-seeded Albertus Magnus baseball team 7-6 in 2012 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament action.
Heading into the 10th, the score was knotted at six before the Rams (18-20-1) put two runners on with two outs. An error by the Falcons' infield allowed Justin Knight to reach base with one out before he moved over to second on a sacrifice. After an intentional walk to Devan Jones, Muse recorded his lone hit of the ballgame as Knight scored from second to give the Rams the victory.
Suffolk's Jhonneris Mendez pitched three innings of relief and earned the win as he improved to 5-3 on the year. Rams' starter Josh Desai threw six innings and gave up five hits and four runs before leaving the game with a 6-4 lead. First out of the bullpen was Mike Masulli who walked two batters and allowed two Falcon runs as Albertus was able to tie the game at six in the eighth inning.
In the Falcons' eighth-inning rally, Joseph Martinez (Bronx, N.Y.) scored on a Rams' error before a sac fly by Kyle Calechman (North Haven, Conn.) scored Fanol Prevalla (Berlin, Conn.) to tie the game at six.
After plating two in the eighth to tie the game, the Falcons loaded the bases in the ninth but stranded all three runners. In the 10th, a lead-off double by Patrick Dornfried (Berlin, Conn.) gave the Falcons a chance to take the lead but the sophomore was stranded at third after a groundout and double-play ended the top half of the frame.
Brian Levchuk (Branford, Conn.) made his fifth start for the Falcons but only threw one inning as he faced just eight batters. Levchuk gave up two hits and four runs as only two of those runs were earned.
Jim Stanley (North Haven, Conn.) was the first Falcon to come out of the bullpen as he threw 4.1 innings of work, while allowing two runs on four hits. Mike Barillaro (Meriden, Conn.) finished the final 4.1 innings as he allowed just one unearned run on three hits, while striking out three batters. Barillaro took the loss in the contest to fall to 1-6 on the year.
Dating back to 1997, the Albertus Magnus baseball program has made 15 GNAC Tournament appearances. With tonight's loss, the Falcons are now 16-18 in GNAC Tournament play dating back to the 1997 season. The Falcons are now 13-20 on the year.
Suffolk will now head to Standish, Maine to take on top-seeded Saint Joseph's College of Maine in a 4:00 p.m. Thursday afternoon contest. The remainder of the double-elimination tournament will be played this weekend in Providence, R.I.
